sign in sign up
<<
Home , Belmont Stakes, Ben Brush, Calumet Farm, Decidedly, Domino (horse), Eddie Arcaro

Whirlaway by Kathleen Jones

Whirlaway was an oddball to say the least, but he was brilliant. In his debut race at age 2, he ran straight to the outside rail and followed it all the way around the track - and still won. In the Saratoga Special, he nearly fell at the start, thus spotting his rivals many lengths. He was still trailing the field when he bore out on the final turn, and followed the outside rail, close to the crowd, all the way up the homestretch to what was an unbelievable victory.

Trainer Ben Jones certainly had his hands full trying to straighten out this colt. For the Derby, Jones brought in the "Master" to insure the best possible ride. He also had a few tricks up his sleeve. In the saddling enclosure, he took a knife and cut away part of the inside blinker, allowing Whirlaway to see the inside rail better, but not the crowd or the outside rail. Prior to race, he walked Whirlaway all the way around the track near the inside rail, just to show him where it was. Then he walked the colt back and forth in front of the huge crowd to get him used to the noise of it.

Whirlaway typically began slowly in his races, preferring to make one big run. In the Derby, the opening fractions were set by a well-regarded King Ranch colt named Dispose. Porter's Cap and Blue Pair were in hot pursuit, while Whirlaway lagged near the back. After a half mile, he had worked his way up to 8th in the 11 runner field. Not until the final turn did he make his patented move, shooting between and assuming command. At the head of the stretch he led by three lengths, and effortlessly increased the margin to 8 at the wire.

His Derby time of 2:01 2/5 was a new track record, and stood as the stakes record for 21 years until shave a full second off it in 1962.

In the Stakes, Whirlaway began even more slowly, allowing the pack to get away by some 10 lengths. The pack swept into the first turn, led by King Cole and Dispose. Far, far back was Whirlaway waiting for the right time to start running. That moment came after three quarters of a mile had already passed. Suddenly on the backstretch, Whirlaway launched from his trailing position and advanced frighteningly fast on the leaders. Arcaro said this colt always scared him. "You were afraid to go to the outside with him, because you never knew if he'd bolt to the outer rail. That left only one option - take him straight up through a pack of horses that were slowing down, and pray for an opening."

The move Whirlaway made in this race was breathtaking. Within a matter of a single furlong, he had moved from last to first and continued his romp to the wire, daring the others to catch him if they could. Arcaro eased up late in the stretch, and the colt won by 5 1/2 lengths, but it could have been more.

For the , only three others horses arrived to face Whirlaway. The shape of this race changed from the start when Itabo took the lead and slowed the pace down to reserve himself for later in the race. Arcaro saw what was happening and urged Whirlaway up to the lead. At the halfway marker he led by 7 lengths. He turned toward home with a sizeable lead and Arcaro allowed him to coast to the wire in the middle of the track. The official winning margin was 2 1/2 lengths over Robert Morris, Yankee Chance and Itabo.

Whirlaway earned the championship title as well as of the Year honors at 3 and then again at four as he took truckloads of trophies home to Calumet.

Whirlaway stood for a time at stud in then was sent for stud duty in France at Haras de Fresnay-le-Bouffard. It was here that he died at the relatively young age of 15. His most prominent offspring were stakes winners SPUR ON, GOING AWAY, DART BY, WHIRL SOME, SCATTERED in the U.S., and WHIRANEK and KURUN in Europe. His daughters also produced some worthwhile runners in stakes winners LADY PITT (champion), GO LIGHTLY, VAPOR WHIRL, DAWN WATCH (FR) and others.

Pedigree:

Swynford (GB) Blandford (GB), 1919 Blanche * 2nd, 1927 Charles O'Malley Malva (GB), 1919 Whirlaway, ch.c. Wild Arum born 1938 , 1907 Pink Dustwhirl, 1926 Superman Ormonda, 1916 Princess

(female family # 8)

Born: 1938, bred in Kentucky by Died: April 6, 1953 (age 15) at Haras de Fresnay-le-Bouffard. He is buried there, but a marker has been placed to his memory in the Calumet cemetery.

Racing Record:

Year Age Starts 1st 2nd 3rd unp. earnings 1940 2 16 7 2 4 3 $ 77,275 1941 3 20 13 5 2 0 272,386 1942 4 22 12 8 2 0 211,250 1943 5 2 0 0 1 1 250 total 60 32 15 9 4 $561,161

Stakes Record: at 2:

 won - Saratoga Special  won -  won - Breeders' Futurity  won - Walden Stakes  2nd - Grand Union Hotel Stakes  2nd - Hotel Stakes  3rd - Belmont Futurity  3rd - Arlington Futurity  3rd - Pimlico Futurity  Champion 2yo Colt

at 3:

 won -  won -  won - Belmont Stakes  won -  won -  won - Lawrence Realization  won -  won - Saranac Handicap  2nd - Classic Stakes  2nd -  2nd - Jockey Club Cold Cup  2nd -  2nd - Kentucky Derby Trial  Champion 3yo Colt  Horse Of The Year

at 4:

 won -  won - Brooklyn Handicap  won -  won - Narragansett Special  won - Dixie Handicap  won - Louisiana Handicap  won -  won - Governor Bowie Handicap  won -  won - Clark Handicap  2nd - Butler Handicp  2nd - Suburban Handicap  2nd -  2nd - Riggs Handicap  2nd -  2nd - Phoenix Handicap  3rd - Handicap  3rd - Carter Handicap  Champion Handicap Horse  Horse Of The Year